George MacDonald, who was born in Scotland December 10, 1824, was a
minister, poet and novelist. His writing, which includes works on
Christianity and fantasy, was influenced by Goethe, Schiller,
Wordsworth, and Thoreau, among others.

He, in turn, influenced C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, G.K. Chesterton,
Mark Twain, and Madeleine L'Engle. During his lifetime George McDonald
wrote nearly fifty books and had a very large following in Great Britain
and the United States. He died September 18, 1905 in England.

The following three quotations, attributed to George MacDonald, are
among those I particularly like:

To be trusted is a greater compliment than to be loved.

We are often unable to tell people what they need to know because
they want to know something else.

The best thing you can do for your fellow, next to rousing his
conscience, is not to give him things to think about, but to wake things
up that are in him; or say, to make him think things for himself. (The
Fantastic Imagination)

"Joyful Curmudgeon"
An oxymoron?
No! I see all the beauty of God's creation and I'm joyful. At the
same time, I see all the suffering and corruption going on in the
world, and feel called to help expose and end it so that we may have true
peace and compassion.